Injectable protein product

ABSTRACT

Moisture is retained in cooked or thawed food by adding to the food an aqueous suspension of animal muscle protein obtained from animal muscle tissue. The aqueous suspension is obtained by mixing comminuted animal muscle tissue with a food grade acid to form an aqueous acidic solution of animal muscle protein. The acidic solution is mixed with a food grade base to precipitate the protein in an aqueous composition. The precipitated protein then is comminuted to form an aqueous suspension of comminuted animal muscle protein.

REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No.15/274,076, entitled, “Injectable Protein Product” by Stephen D.Kelleher et al., filed Sep. 23, 2016, which is a continuation of U.S.application Ser. No. 12/798,423, entitled, “Protein Product and Processfor Making Injectable Protein Product” by Stephen D. Kelleher, et al.,filed Apr. 5, 2010.

The entire teachings of the above applications are incorporated hereinby reference.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates to a novel protein composition derived fromanimal muscle tissue, a process for making the protein composition andto a process for retaining moisture in food, cooked or uncooked.

At the present time, it is desirable to retain moisture in cooked oruncooked food so that drying of the food during the cooking process isminimized. It is also desirable to retain moisture in cooked or uncookedfood so that the natural food flavors are retained in the food evenafter cooking.

A common occurrence of moisture loss occurs when a frozen food is thawedsuch as prior to cooking the food. The thawed food experiences drip losswherein a liquid aqueous composition such as water is formed and becomesseparated from the solid thawed food.

A second common occurrence of moisture loss occurs when an uncooked foodis cooked. Liquid moisture in the food becomes vaporized during thecooking process and migrates to the food surface where it evaporates orseparates as a liquid from the solid food being cooked.

At the present time, a variety of additive compositions are added tofood, primarily by injection, by vacuum tumbling and/or with syringes.Prior attempts to retain moisture in cooked meat or fish with additiveshave included the use of sodium tripolyphosphate, starches, vegetablefibers, a coating of fat free flour based batter containing an egg whitesubstitute (U.K. Patent Application 2,097,646), water-in-oil emulsion(U.S. Pat. No. 3,406,081), protein or protein isolate and a fat (U.S.Pat. Nos. 4,031,261 and 4,935,251), milk solids (U.S. Pat. No.2,282,801) and lecithin (U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,470,281 and 3,451,826).

An example of such a composition also is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No.6,855,364 wherein an acidic protein composition derived from animalmuscle tissue is added to a food prior to cooking in order to retainmoisture in the food during cooking. The acidic protein composition isone obtained by mixing a food grade acid composition with comminutedanimal muscle tissue to obtain an acidic protein composition. Suitableprocesses for obtaining the acidic protein composition are disclosed inU.S. Pat. Nos. 6,005,073; 6,288,216; 6,136,959; 6,451,975 and/or7,433,764 all of which are incorporated herein by reference in theirentirety.

Accordingly, it would be desirable to provide a form of fish or meatwhich can be thawed and/or cooked while retaining its moisture andnatural flavors or added flavors. In addition, it would be desirable toprovide such a form of fish or meat wherein the majority of moisture oradded flavors in the uncooked fish or meat is retained during cooking.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In accordance with this invention, it has been found that a novel animalmuscle protein composition comprising sarcoplasmic proteins andmyofibrillar proteins derived from animal muscle tissue providesimproved moisture retention in food being thawed or cooked. The animalmuscle protein composition is obtained from animal muscle tissue bycomminuting the animal muscle tissue and then mixing it with a foodgrade acid composition under conditions to solubilize the animal muscleprotein thereby forming a solution of animal muscle protein. Thesolubilized acidic animal muscle tissue then is mixed with a food gradebase composition to increase the pH of the solubilized animal muscleprotein to a pH between about 4.7 and about 11.0, preferably betweenabout pH 5.5 and about 9.5, thereby to precipitate the protein. Theprecipitated protein then is comminuted to form protein particulatessuspended in an aqueous medium. It has been found that when the animalmuscle protein composition prepared by the process of this invention isadded to a food to be thawed and/or cooked, increased moisture retentionin the food is observed as compared to an acidic animal muscle tissueprotein composition or an alkaline animal muscle tissue proteincomposition obtained without the first step of forming an acidic animalmuscle composition formed from animal muscle tissue.

This result is surprising since the protein compositions are chemicallythe same. While applicants do not wish to be bound to any theoryexplaining this surprising result, it is believed that by first mixingthe animal muscle tissue with a food grade acid, unfolding of theprotein molecules is promoted and the subsequent mixing of the proteinwith a food grade alkaline compound results in an increase infunctionality of the protein. This increase in functionality promotesincreased moisture retention in the food being treated with the protein.

In addition, it has been found that the comminuted animal muscle proteincomposition of this invention can be injected into food when pumpedthrough a syringe while avoiding protein precipitation within thesyringe which blocks the fluid pathway through the syringe. In contrast,it has been found that when the precipitated protein which has beenmixed first with an acid and then with a base but is not comminutedblocks the fluid pathway of a syringe within seconds after pumping ofthe protein composition is initiated. In addition, it has also beenfound that when the precipitated protein which has been mixed first withan acid and then with a base and additionally mixed with salt, forflavoring, and then comminuted does not block the fluid pathway of thesyringe. This is not true for proteins held at the low pH or proteinsthat go directly to high pH in contrast to proteins that are adjusted tolow pH prior to adjustment to a high pH. Also, in contrast to thecomposition of this invention, animal muscle tissue which has beensolubilized with an acid composition to form acidic animal muscleprotein which is comminuted or not comminuted blocks the fluid pathwayof a syringe within seconds after initiating pumping through thesyringe. The fact that these protein compositions block the fluidpathway through the syringe renders them useless for injecting a foodwith a syringe. In addition, the protein composition mixed first with anacid and then with a base and not comminuted or is mixed only with anacid and comminuted or not comminuted can not be adequately injectedinto a food by vacuum tumbling since they are retained on the surface ofthe food and do not satisfactorily penetrate the food surface.

The animal muscle protein composition of this invention can be derivedfrom any form of animal muscle tissue including that obtained from fish,poultry such as chicken, shellfish such as shrimp, lamb, beef, pork orthe like.

When moisture is to be retained in food to be thawed and/or food to becooked, the protein composition of this invention is first added to thefood including mixing the protein composition with the food or injectingthe protein composition into the food such as by vacuum tumbling and/orwith a syringe.

DESCRIPTION OF SPECIFIC EMBODIMENTS

In accordance with this invention, in a first step, the acidic muscletissue protein comprising sarcoplasmic proteins and myofibrillarproteins is formed by comminuting animal muscle tissue and then mixingthe comminuted animal muscle tissue with a food grade acid compositionunder conditions to solubilize the animal muscle tissue. Sufficientwater also is added to the tissue to fully disperse it. The water andacid composition can be added in sequence or added together with thetissue. The resultant acidic animal muscle tissue protein solution has apH of about 3.5 or less, preferably between about 2.0 and about 3.7,preferably between about 2.5 and about 3.5 but not so low as toadversely affect the protein functionality.

Any food grade or pharmaceutically acceptable acid that does notundesirably contaminate the acidic protein product can be used to lowerthe pH of the protein product, for example, organic acids (e.g., citricacid, ascorbic acid, malic acid or tartaric acid) or mineral acids(e.g., hydrochloric acid, phosphoric acid, sulfuric acid) or mixturesthereof Acids that have significant volatility and impart undesirableodors, such as acetic acid or butyric acid, are undesirable. The animalmuscle tissue is formed into small tissue particles which are then mixedwith sufficient acid to form a solution of the tissue having a pH of 3.5or less, but not such a low pH as to adversely modify the animal muscletissue protein. In one process, the solution is centrifuged to form alowest membrane lipid layer, an intermediate layer of aqueous acidicprotein solution and a top layer of neutral lipids (fats and oils). Theintermediate layer of aqueous acidic protein solution then is separatedfrom the membrane lipid layer or from both the membrane lipid layer andthe neutral lipid layer. In a second process, no centrifugation step iseffected since the starting animal muscle tissue contains sufficientlylow concentrations of undesired membrane lipids, oils and/or fats as torender a centrifugation step unnecessary. In both processes, the proteincomposition formed is free of myofibrils and sarcomeres.

The acidic animal muscle protein solution then is mixed with a foodgrade or pharmaceutically acceptable alkaline composition to raise thepH of the acidic solution to a pH of between about 4.7 and about 11.0,preferably between about 5.5 and about 9.5 to precipitate the animalmuscle protein. Representative suitable alkaline compositions includesodium hydroxide, potassium hydroxide, sodium bicarbonate, potassiumbicarbonate or mixtures thereof or the like. The precipitated animalmuscle protein then is comminuted into fine particles such as withapparatus having one or more rotating blades or one or morereciprocating blades thereby to form an aqueous suspension of animalmuscle proteins.

The aqueous suspension of animal muscle protein is admixed withcomminuted meat or whole fish, fish fillets, whole pieces of meat orinjected into meat or fish. Injection can be effected in any manner suchas with a syringe or by vacuum tumbling or both. It has been found thatwhen the resultant meat or fish is thawed or the resultant meat or fishis cooked, the thawed or cooked meat or fish retains significantlygreater moisture as compared to meat or fish not containing the proteincomposition of this invention.

The protein products utilized in the present invention compriseprimarily myofibrillar proteins that also contain significant amounts ofsarcoplasmic proteins. The sarcoplasmic proteins in the protein productadmixed with or injected into the animal muscle tissue comprises aboveabout 8%, preferably above about 10%, more preferably above about 18%,up to about 30% by weight sarcoplasmic proteins, based on the totalweight of protein.

In one aspect of this invention, particulate meat or fish such as groundmeat or fish, e.g., hamburger, is mixed with the protein suspensioncomprising myofibrillar proteins and sarcoplasmic proteins at a weightratio usually comprising about 0.03 to about 18% weight of the proteinmixture based on the weight of the uncooked meat or fish, preferablybetween about 0.5 and 10% weight based on the weight of uncooked meat orfish and most preferably comprising between about 0.5 to about 5% weightbased on the weight of the uncooked meat of fish. When utilizing lessthan about 0.3% weight of the protein suspension of this invention,effective moisture retention is not observed.

The animal muscle tissue which is modified to retain moisture inaccordance with this invention comprises meat and fish, including shellfish. Representative suitable fish include deboned flounder, sole,haddock, cod, sea bass, salmon, tuna, trout or the like. Representativesuitable shell fish include shrimp, crabmeat, crayfish, lobster,scallops, oysters, or shrimp in the shell or the like. Representativesuitable meats include ham, beef, lamb, pork, venison, veal, buffalo orthe like; poultry such as chicken, mechanically deboned poultry meat,turkey, duck, goose or the like either in fillet form or in ground formsuch as hamburg. The meats can include the bone of the animal when thebone does not adversely affect the edibility of the meat such as spareribs, lamb chops or pork chops. In addition, processed meat productswhich include animal muscle tissue such as a sausage composition, a hotdog composition, emulsified product or the like can be injected or mixedwith the protein suspension of this invention or a combination of theseprotein addition methods. Sausage and hot dog compositions includeground meat or fish, herbs such as sage, spices, sugar, pepper, salt andfillers such as dairy products as is well known in the art.

The fish or meat containing the protein suspension of this inventionthen can be cooked in a conventional manner such as by baking, broiling,deep fat frying, in a microwave oven or the like. It has been found thatthe cooked meat or fish provided in accordance with this inventionweighs between about 1 and about 20%, more usually between about 4% andabout 9% by weight greater than cooked untreated meat or fish startingfrom the same uncooked weight. In addition, with frozen meat or fishcontaining the protein suspension, drip loss from the food is reducedbetween about 4 and about 15% as compared with meat or fish notcontaining the protein suspension of this invention.

The following examples illustrate the present invention and are notintended to limit the same. Percent (%) in Tables 1 through 10 reflectsthe comparative loss of moisture in the controls verses the moistureloss in the compositions of this invention (moisture content of acomposition of this invention/moisture content of control X 100).

EXAMPLE 1

This example illustrates that the protein composition made by the methodof this invention provides an improved increase in moisture retention infish or shellfish as compared to an acidic protein composition not mixedwith an alkaline composition. The acidic protein composition shown inTables 1, 2, 3 and 4 (shown below) were processed by mixing comminutedfish muscle protein with a food grade acidic composition comprisingphosphoric acid to obtain a protein solution having a pH of 3.0. Theprotein compositions of this invention were obtained by mixingcomminuted fish muscle protein or shrimp muscle protein with a foodgrade acidic composition comprising phosphoric acid to obtain a pH of3.0 in a first step. In a second step, a food grade alkaline compositioncomprising sodium hydroxide was added to the acidic protein solution toprecipitate the protein having a pH of 5.5 or 7.3 (Tables 1, 2 and 3shown below) or a pH of 7.5, 7.8, 8.5 or 9.5 (Table 4 shown below). Theprecipitated protein in each instance was comminuted with a Stephanmicrocut apparatus having two rotating blades to form a suspension ofprotein and an aqueous medium having a pH shown in Tables 1, 2, 3 and 4.Each protein composition made from muscle protein as described hereinwas injected into the animal muscle tissue of the species from which theprotein compositions were obtained. The animal muscle tissue was thenfrozen followed by being thawed. Controls were supplied to which noprotein was added. The animal muscle tissue samples were weighed priorto injection, subsequent to injection and subsequently to being frozenand then thawed.

As shown in Table 1, moisture retention with the protein composition ofthis invention improved over moisture retention with the acidic proteincomposition by more than 7%.

As shown in Table 2, moisture retention with the protein composition ofthis invention improved over moisture retention with the acidic proteincomposition by more than 9%.

As shown in Table 3, moisture retention with the protein composition ofthis invention improved over moisture retention with the acidic proteincomposition by more than 4%.

As shown in Table 4, moisture retention with the protein composition ofthis invention improved over moisture retention with the acidic proteincomposition by more than 6%.

EXAMPLE 2

This example illustrates that the protein composition made by the methodof this invention provides an improved increase in moisture retention infish or shellfish as compared to an acidic protein composition not mixedwith an alkaline composition. The acidic protein composition shown inTable 5 (shown below) was processed by mixing comminuted fish muscleprotein with a food grade acidic composition comprising phosphoric acidto obtain a protein solution having a pH of 3.0. The proteincompositions of this invention were obtained by mixing comminuted fishmuscle protein or comminuted shrimp muscle protein with a food gradeacidic composition comprising phosphoric acid to obtain a pH of 3.0 in afirst step. In a second step, a food grade alkaline compositioncomprising sodium hydroxide was added to the acidic protein solution toprecipitate the protein having a pH of 5.5 or 7.3 (Table 5 shown below)or a pH of 8.5 (Table 6 shown below). The precipitated protein in eachinstance was comminuted with a Stephan microcut apparatus having tworotating blades to form a suspension of protein and an aqueous mediumhaving a pH shown in Tables 5 and 6. Each protein composition made frommuscle protein as described herein was injected into the animal muscletissue of the species from which the protein compositions were obtained.The animal muscle tissue was then frozen followed by being cooked.Controls were supplied to which no protein was added. The animal muscletissue samples were weighed prior to injection, subsequent to injectionand subsequently to being cooked.

As shown in Table 5, moisture retention with the protein composition ofthis invention improved over moisture retention with the acidic proteincomposition by more than 2%.

As shown in Table 6, moisture retention with the protein composition ofthis invention improved the control by more than 15%.

EXAMPLE 3

This example illustrates that the protein composition made by the methodof this invention provides an improved increase in moisture retention inpork as compared to an acidic protein composition not mixed with analkaline composition. The acidic protein composition shown in Tables 7and 8 (shown below) were processed by mixing comminuted pork proteinwith a food grade acidic composition comprising phosphoric acid toobtain a protein solution having a pH of 2.8. The protein compositionsof this invention were obtained by mixing comminuted pork protein with afood grade acidic composition comprising phosphoric acid to obtain a pHof 2.8 in a first step. In a second step, a food grade alkalinecomposition comprising sodium hydroxide was added to the acidic proteinsolution to precipitate the protein having a pH of 5.5 or 7.3 (Tables 7and 8 shown below). The precipitated protein in each instance wascomminuted with a Stephan microcut apparatus having two blades to form asuspension of protein and an aqueous medium having a pH shown in Tables7 and 8. Each protein composition made from muscle protein as describedherein and 3 wt. % sodium chloride were mixed with comminuted pork. 50ml distilled water then was added. The samples in a Nalgene Centrifugebottle were shaken and then centrifuged at 3000 rpm for 10 minutes toremove excess water. Controls were supplied to which no protein wasadded. After centrifugation, the bottles were inverted over a wirescreen for one minute. The animal muscle tissue samples were weighedprior to mixing, subsequent to mixing and subsequent to centrifugation.The water uptake was calculated by dividing the final sample weight bythe initial premix weight X 100.

As shown in Table 7, moisture retention with the protein composition ofthis invention improved over moisture retention with the acidic proteincomposition by more that 5%.

As shown in Table 8, moisture retention with the protein composition ofthis invention improved over moisture retention with the acidic proteincomposition by more than 15%.

EXAMPLE 4

This example illustrates that the protein composition made by the methodof this invention provides an improved increase in moisture retention inchicken as compared to an acidic protein composition not mixed with analkaline composition. The acidic protein composition shown in Table 9(shown below) were processed by mixing comminuted chicken muscle proteinwith a food grade acidic composition comprising phosphoric acid toobtain a protein solution having a pH of 2.8. The protein compositionsof this invention were obtained by mixing comminuted chicken muscleprotein with a food grade acidic composition comprising phosphoric acidto obtain a pH of 2.8 in a first step. In a second step, a food gradealkaline composition comprising sodium hydroxide was added to the acidicprotein solution to precipitate the protein having a pH of 5.5 or 7.3(Table 9 shown below). The precipitated protein in each instance wascomminuted with a Stephan microcut apparatus having two rotating bladesto form a suspension of protein and an aqueous medium having a pH shownin Table 9. The injectable compositions C1, C2, C3, C4, T1, T2 and T3contain salt, starch and/or sodium tripolyphosphate as shown in Table 9.Each protein composition made from chicken muscle tissue as describedherein was injected into the animal muscle tissue of chicken by asyringe (10 wt % added) and by vacuum tumbling (5wt. % added) for atotal added weight of 15 wt %. The chicken muscle tissue was thencooked. Controls were supplied to which water was added at 3 wt. % butno protein was added. The animal muscle tissue samples were weighedprior to injection, subsequent to injection and subsequent to beingcooked.

As shown in Table 9, moisture retention with the protein composition ofthis invention improved over moisture retention with the acidic proteincomposition by more than 9%.

EXAMPLE 5

This example illustrates that the protein composition made by the methodof this invention provides an improved increase in moisture retention infish as compared to an alkaline protein composition not first mixed withan acid composition. The alkaline protein compositions shown in Table 10(shown below) were processed by mixing comminuted fish muscle proteinwith food grade sodium hydroxide composition to obtain a proteinsolution having a pH of 12.0 then was adjusted first with phosphoricacid to reduce the pH to 10.0 or 5.5 and then with sodium hydroxide toobtain a pH of 8.5, 10 or 11. The protein compositions of this inventionwere obtained by mixing comminuted fish muscle tissue with a food gradeacidic composition comprising phosphoric acid to obtain a pH of 2.8 in afirst step. In a second step, a food grade alkaline compositioncomprising sodium hydroxide was added to the acidic protein solution toprecipitate the protein having a pH of 8.5 or 9.5 (Table 10, samples 5and 6 shown below). The precipitated protein in each instance wascomminuted with a Stephan microcut apparatus having two rotating bladesto form a suspension of protein and an aqueous medium having a pH shownin Table 10. Each protein composition made from fish muscle tissue asdescribed herein was injected into the animal muscle tissue of fishmuscle tissue by a syringe (10 wt % added). The fish muscle tissue wasthen frozen and then thawed. Controls were supplied to which water wasadded at 3 wt. % but no protein was added. The animal muscle tissuesamples were weighed prior to injection, subsequent to injection andsubsequent to being thawed.

As shown in Table 10, moisture retention with the protein composition ofthis invention improved over moisture retention with the alkali proteincomposition by more than 5%.

TABLE 1 Pre- Post- Post Post Post Net vs. Pre- Injection Injection PickUp Thaw Thaw Thaw Injection Weight Weight Weight Pick Up Weight LossLoss (green) Sample pH Species (g) (g) (g) % (g) (g) % Wt. % 1 ControlPollock 202.98 202.98 0.00 0.00 192.38 10.60 5.22% 94.78% 2 3.00 Pollock192.97 213.78 20.81 10.78% 192.63 21.15 9.89% 99.82% 3 5.50 Pollock206.44 233.76 27.32 13.23% 207.42 26.34 11.27% 100.47% 4 7.30 Pollock200.39 235.56 35.17 17.55% 214.76 20.80 8.83% 107.17%

TABLE 2 Pre- Post- Post Post Post Net vs. Pre- Injection Injection PickUp Thaw Thaw Thaw Injection Weight Weight Weight Pick Up Weight LossLoss (green) Sample pH Species (g) (g) (g) % (g) (g) % Wt. % 1 ControlCod 188.67 188.67 0.00 0.00 187.33 1.34 0.71% 98.66% 2 3.00 Cod 192.37222.01 29.64 15.41% 196.11 25.90 11.67% 103.74% 3 5.50 Cod 195.62 228.7833.16 16.95% 205.49 23.29 10.18% 109.87% 4 7.30 Cod 194.19 236.66 42.4721.87% 207.64 29.02 12.26% 113.45%

TABLE 3 Pre- Post- Post Post Post Net vs. Pre- Injection Injection PickUp Thaw Thaw Thaw Injection Weight Weight Weight Pick Up Weight LossLoss (green) Sample pH Species (g) (g) (g) % (g) (g) % Wt. % 1 ControlShrimp 62.04 62.04 0.00 0.00% 59.89 2.15 3.47% 96.53% 2 3.00 Shrimp59.73 68.23 8.50 14.23% 64.32 3.91 5.73% 107.68% 3 5.50 Shrimp 58.1366.50 8.37 14.40% 65.29 1.21 1.82% 112.32% 4 7.30 Shrimp 60.11 69.319.20 15.31% 66.72 2.59 3.74% 111.00%

TABLE 4 Pre- Post- Post Post Post Net vs. Pre- Injection Injection PickUp Thaw Thaw Thaw Injection Weight Weight Weight Pick Up Weight LossLoss (Green) Sample pH Species (g) (g) (g) Weight % (g) (g) % Wt. % 1Control Pollock 200.34 200.34 0.00 0.00% 197.45 2.89 1.44% 98.56% 2 7.3Pollock 202.12 222.11 19.99 9.89% 210.23 11.88 5.35% 104.01% 3 7.8Pollock 201.11 234.54 33.43 16.62% 222.65 11.89 5.07% 110.71% 4 8.5Pollock 199.89 225.12 25.23 12.62% 213.27 11.85 5.26% 106.69% 5 9.5Pollock 200.63 228.01 27.38 13.65% 215.41 12.60 5.53% 107.37%

TABLE 5 Pre- Post- Post Post Post Net vs. Pre- Injection Injection PickUp Cook Cook Cook Injection Weight Weight Weight Pick Up Weight LossLoss (Green) Sample pH Species (g) (g) (g) % (g) (g) % Wt. % 1 ControlShrimp 26.11 26.11 0.00 0.00% 24.11 2.00 7.66% 92.34% 2 3.00 Shrimp28.39 32.67 4.28 15.08% 32.05 0.62 1.90% 112.89% 3 5.50 Shrimp 30.7235.86 5.14 16.73% 35.39 0.47 1.31% 115.20% 4 7.50 Shrimp 27.47 32.024.55 16.56% 31.52 0.50 1.56% 114.74%

TABLE 6 Pre- Post- Post Post Post Net vs. Pre- Injection Injection PickUp Cook Cook Cook Injection Weight Weight Weight Pick Up Weight LossLoss (Green) Sample pH Species (g) (g) (g) % (g) (g) % Wt. % 1 ControlPollock 454.23 454.23 0.00 0.00% 352.76 101.47 22.34% 77.66% 2 8.50Pollock 455.65 501.65 46.00 10.10% 425.77 75.88 15.13% 93.44%

TABLE 7 Series 1 Post Centrifuge Bottle Premix Weight (G) Water UptakeWeight (g) Weight (Bottle and Premix) Net Result % 1 Ground Pork Loin(GPL) 78.54 24.76 107.60 117.37% 2 GPL + 2.8 Pork Protein & 3% Salt78.71 25.19 107.07 112.58% 3 GPL + 5.5 pH Pork Protein & 3% Salt 78.4125.66 108.62 117.73% 4 GPL + 7.3 pH Pork Protein & 3% Salt 78.63 25.04108.07 117.57%

TABLE 8 Series 2 Post Centrifuge Bottle Premix Weight (G) Water UptakeWeight (g) Weight(g) (Bottle and Premix) Net Result % 1 Ground Pork Loin(GPL) 78.44 24.89 107.23 115.67% 2 GPL + 2.8 Pork Protein & 3% Salt79.68 25.66 106.99 106.43% 3 GPL + 5.5 pH Pork Protein & 3% Salt 78.4125.07 108.83 121.34% 4 GPL + 7.3 pH Pork Protein & 3% Salt 78.70 24.83108.23 118.93%

TABLE 9 Variations Controls C1 95.00% Water 3.00% Salt 0.00% Starch2.00% Phosphate C2 95.00% Water 3.00% Salt 2.00% Starch 0.00% PhosphateC3 93.00% Water 3.00% Salt 2.00% Starch 2.00% Phosphate C4 97.00% Water3.00% Salt 0.00% Starch 0.00% Phosphate Protein-Test Samples T1 2.8 pH63.00% Protein 31.00% Water 3.00% Salt 3.00% Starch T2 5.5 pH 63.00%Protein 31.00% Water 3.00% Salt 3.00% Starch T3 7.3 pH 63.00% Protein31.00% Water 3.00% Salt 3.00% Starch Pre- Post- Post Post Net vs.Injection Injection Pick Pick Post Cook Cook Pre-Injection Tumble/Tumble/ Up Up Cook Loss Loss (Green) Sample pH Species Weight (g) Weight(g) Weight % Weight (g) % Wt. % C1 Control Chicken 334.00 377.00 43.0012.87% 270.00 107.00 28.38% 80.84% C2 Control Chicken 305.00 348.0043.00 14.10% 259.00 89.00 25.57% 84.92.%  C3 Control Chicken 331.00373.00 42.00 12.69% 281.00 92.00 24.66% 84.89% C4 Control Chicken 319.00363.00 44.00 13.79% 255.00 108.00 29.75% 79.94% T1 2.80 Chicken 400.00463.00 63.00 15.75% 340.00 123.00 26.57% 85.00% T1 2.80 Chicken 439.00498.00 59.00 13.44% 372.00 126.00 25.30% 84.74% T2 5.50 Chicken 477.00551.00 74.00 15.51% 436.00 115.00 20.87% 91.40% T2 5.50 Chicken 443.00505.00 62.00 14.00% 392.00 113.00 22.38% 88.49% T3 7.30 Chicken 452.00518.00 66.00 14.60% 425.00 93.00 17.95% 94.03% T3 7.30 Chicken 316.00363.00 47.00 14.87% 272.00 91.00 25.07% 86.08% T3 7.30 Chicken 326.00379.00 53.00 16.26% 280.00 99.00 26.12% 85.89%

TABLE 10 Sample 1 12 pH to 10 pH 2 12 pH to 5.5 pH to 8.5 pH 3 12 pH to5.5 pH to 10 pH 4 12 pH to 5.5 pH to 11 Ph 5 2.8 pH to 8.5 pH 6 6.2 pHto 9.5 ph Pre- Post- Pick Post Post Post Net vs. Injection Injection UpPick Thaw Thaw Thaw Pre-Injection Weight Weight Weight Up Weight LossLoss (Green) Sample pH Species (g) (g) (g) % (g) % % Wt. % 1 10 Pollock126.59 134.68 8.09  6.39% 121.49 13.19 9.79%  95.97% 2 8.50 Pollock105.35 113.20 7.85  7.45% 105.96 7.24 6.40% 100.58% 3 10.00 Pollock103.48 115.22 11.74 11.35% 105.59 9.63 8.36% 102.04% 4 11.00 Pollock110.56 124.50 13.94 12.61% 113.17 11.33 9.10% 102.36% 5 8.5 Pollock199.89 225.12 25.23 12.62% 213.27 11.85 5.26% 106.69% 6 9.5 Pollock200.63 228.01 27.38 13.65% 215.41 12.60 5.53% 107.37%

What is claimed is:
 1. An injectable salted aqueous suspension offunctional animal muscle tissue protein composition for use during afood processing injection procedure with at least one injection pathwaywherein said salted aqueous suspension of functional animal muscletissue comprises sarcoplasmic proteins and myofibrillar proteins derivedfrom animal muscle tissue obtained by the process comprising the stepsof: a. comminuting animal muscle tissue to form comminuted animal muscletissue, b. mixing said comminuted animal muscle tissue with a food gradeacid composition to solubilize animal muscle protein thereby forming anaqueous acidic solution of animal muscle protein wherein step a and stepb are performed simultaneously or in order, c. then mixing said aqueousacidic solution with a food grade alkaline composition to precipitatethe animal muscle protein in solution to form an aqueous suspension ofanimal muscle protein particulates, wherein steps b and c are performedwithout addition of salt apart from the food grade acid compositionadded in step b and the food grade alkaline composition added in step c,d. then adding salt apart from the food grade acid composition of step band the food grade alkaline composition of step c to said aqueoussuspension of step c to form a salted aqueous suspension of animalmuscle protein, and e. then comminuting said salted aqueous suspensionof step d of animal muscle protein to form the injectable salted aqueoussuspension of functional animal muscle tissue protein compositionincluding sarcoplasmic proteins and myofibrillar proteins; whereby saidinjectable salted aqueous suspension is flowable through the at leastone injection pathway during an injection procedure without blocking theat least one injection pathway; and wherein said injectable saltedaqueous suspension, when added to animal muscle tissue, retainsmoisture.
 2. The injectable salted aqueous suspension of claim 1,wherein aqueous acidic solution of Step b) has a pH between about 2.0and about 3.7.
 3. The injectable salted aqueous suspension of claim 1,wherein aqueous acidic solution of Step b) has a pH between about 2.5and about 3.5.
 4. The injectable salted aqueous suspension of claim 1,wherein the aqueous suspension of animal muscle protein particulates ofStep c) has a pH between about 4.7 and about 9.5.
 5. The injectablesalted aqueous suspension of claim 4, wherein the aqueous suspension ofanimal muscle protein particulates of Step c) has a pH between about 5.5and about 9.5.
 6. The injectable salted aqueous suspension of claim 1,wherein when added to animal muscle tissue to retain moisture, said theinjectable salted aqueous suspension of functional animal muscle tissueprotein composition is injected into said animal muscle tissue at aweight ratio between about 0.03% and about 18% by weight of theinjectable salted aqueous suspension of functional animal muscle tissuecomposition to said animal muscle tissue.
 7. The injectable saltedaqueous suspension of claim 2, wherein when said animal muscle tissue iscooked with said injectable salted aqueous suspension of functionalanimal muscle protein composition, the animal muscle tissue weighsbetween about 1% and about 20% greater than an animal muscle tissue notcooked with said injectable salted aqueous suspension.
 8. The injectablesalted aqueous suspension of claim 2, wherein when said animal muscletissue is thawed with said injectable salted aqueous suspension offunctional animal muscle protein composition, the animal muscle tissueweighs between about 4% and about 15% greater than an animal muscletissue not thawed with said injectable salted aqueous suspension.
 9. Theinjectable salted aqueous suspension of claim 1 wherein the injection ofthe salted aqueous suspension of functional animal muscle tissue proteincomposition is followed by vacuum tumbling.
 10. The injectable saltedaqueous suspension of claim 1 wherein said injectable salted aqueoussuspension is added to animal muscle tissue by injection with a syringeor by vacuum tumbling.
 11. The injectable salted aqueous suspension ofclaim 1 wherein membrane lipids are separated from said aqueous acidicsolution of animal muscle protein.
 12. The injectable salted aqueoussuspension of claim 1 wherein the salt added during step d is sodiumchloride.
 13. The injectable salted aqueous suspension of claim 1 saidfood grade acid composition is citric acid and said food grade alkalinecomposition is sodium bicarbonate.
 14. The injectable salted aqueoussuspension of claim 1 wherein the animal muscle tissue is selected fromthe group consisting of fish muscle tissue, poultry muscle tissue, beefmuscle tissue, pork muscle tissue, and lamb muscle tissue.
 15. Theinjectable salted aqueous suspension of claim 14 wherein the poultrymuscle tissue is taken from the group consisting of chicken muscletissue and turkey muscle tissue.
 16. The injectable salted aqueoussuspension of claim 14 wherein the fish muscle tissue is shellfishmuscle tissue.
 17. The injectable salted aqueous suspension of claim 15wherein the shellfish muscle tissue is shrimp muscle tissue.
 18. Ananimal muscle tissue composition having retained moisture obtained by aprocess comprising the steps of:
 1. adding an injectable salted aqueoussuspension of functional animal muscle tissue protein composition tosaid animal muscle tissue at a weight ratio between about 0.03% andabout 18% by weight of the injectable salted aqueous suspension offunctional animal muscle tissue composition to said animal muscletissue, whereby said injectable salted aqueous suspension of functionalanimal muscle tissue protein composition is injected into said animalmuscle tissue, and
 2. cooking or thawing said animal muscle tissue withsaid injectable salted aqueous suspension of functional animal muscleprotein composition from step a, wherein, after cooking, the animalmuscle tissue weighs between about 1% and about 20% greater than ananimal muscle tissue not subjected to step a, or wherein, after thawing,the animal muscle tissue weighs between about 4% and about 15% greaterthan an animal muscle tissue not subjected to step a; wherein theinjectable salted aqueous suspension of functional animal muscle tissueprotein composition is for use during a food processing injectionprocedure with at least one injection pathway, and wherein said saltedaqueous suspension of functional animal muscle tissue comprisessarcoplasmic proteins and myofibrillar proteins derived from animalmuscle tissue and is obtained by the process comprising the steps of: a.comminuting animal muscle tissue to form comminuted animal muscletissue, b. mixing said comminuted animal muscle tissue with a food gradeacid composition to solubilize animal muscle protein thereby forming anaqueous acidic solution of animal muscle protein, wherein step a andstep b are performed simultaneously or in order, c. then mixing saidaqueous acidic solution with a food grade alkaline composition toprecipitate the animal muscle protein in solution to form an aqueoussuspension of animal muscle protein particulates, wherein steps b and care performed without addition of salt apart from the food grade acidcomposition added in step b and the food grade alkaline compositionadded in step c, d. then adding salt apart from the food grade acidcomposition of step b and the food grade alkaline composition of step cto said aqueous suspension of step c to form a salted aqueous suspensionof animal muscle protein, and e. then comminuting said salted aqueoussuspension of step d of animal muscle protein to form the injectablesalted aqueous suspension of functional animal muscle tissue proteincomposition including sarcoplasmic proteins and myofibrillar proteins;whereby said injectable salted aqueous suspension is flowable throughthe at least one injection pathway during an injection procedure withoutblocking the at least one injection pathway.
 19. The animal muscletissue composition of claim 16, wherein aqueous acidic solution of Stepb) has a pH between about 2.0 and about 3.7.
 20. The animal muscletissue composition of claim 16, wherein the aqueous suspension of animalmuscle protein particulates of Step c) has a pH between about 4.7 andabout 9.5.
 21. The process for forming an injectable salted aqueoussuspension of functional animal muscle tissue protein composition foruse during a food processing injection procedure with at least oneinjection pathway wherein said injectable salted aqueous suspension offunctional animal muscle tissue comprises sarcoplasmic proteins andmyofibrillar proteins, said process comprising: a. comminuting animalmuscle tissue to form comminuted animal muscle tissue, b. mixing saidcomminuted animal muscle tissue with a food grade acid composition tosolubilize animal muscle protein thereby forming an aqueous acidicsolution of animal muscle protein, wherein step a and step b areperformed simultaneously or in order, c. then mixing said aqueous acidicsolution with a food grade alkaline composition to form an aqueoussuspension of animal muscle protein particulates, wherein steps b and care performed without addition of salt apart from the food grade acidcomposition added in step b and the food grade alkaline compositionadded in step c, d. then adding salt apart from the food grade acidcomposition of step b and the food grade alkaline composition of step cto the aqueous suspension of step c to form a salted aqueous suspensionof animal muscle protein, and e. then comminuting said salted aqueoussuspension of step d of animal muscle protein to form the injectablesalted aqueous suspension of functional animal muscle tissue proteincomposition including sarcoplasmic proteins and myofibrillar proteins;whereby said injectable salted aqueous suspension is flowable throughthe at least one injection pathway during an injection procedure withoutblocking the at least one injection pathway; and wherein said injectablesalted aqueous suspension, when added to animal muscle tissue, retainsmoisture.
 22. The process of claim 21, wherein aqueous acidic solutionof Step b) has a pH between about 2.0 and about 3.7.
 23. The process ofclaim 21, wherein the aqueous suspension of animal muscle proteinparticulates of Step c) has a pH between about 4.7 and about 9.5. 24.The process of claim 21, further comprising injecting said comminutedsalted aqueous suspension through the at least one injection pathway.25. The process of claim 21, comprising injecting said comminuted saltedaqueous suspension through the at least one pathway, wherein saidinjecting step is performed by syringe or by vacuum tumbling.